Escape
by Sashimi
Summary: Title says it all. First fanfic, let me have it! I love feedback.


Escape

(Author's note: The story occurs just before the start of Brood War. The UED battleship The Alexander has just left low orbit of the doomed terran colony, heading back out into space.)

Warning…this story has some gore in it.

"Escape"

The coursing rain and driving winds beat the blasted, muddy ground as blood runs in tiny streams down and along the battered trenches. The battleground was that in name only now, as the true battle had already been won…and the victors were roaring and screaming their victory call over the dark, oppressive landscape.

Daniel Shaltz cowered beneath the remains of a tank, cursing his rotten luck as the zerg shriek all around him. Thunder and lightening added sound and light to the eerie surroundings, underscoring the extreme danger he was in. Why haven't the air support arrived yet? Where were they? His com has been ominously silent, no one has taken command, no orders or directions were forthcoming…they had been soundly defeated. _It's every man for himself now, _he realized.

He tried to take deep breaths to calm the panic as the zerg victory cry ended. He automatically squeezed the stim lever, but no stimulant was forthcoming. He'd finished the last of it surviving the last zerg attack. _Now what_, he worried. _They are coming back, they won't stop til every last one of us is dead._

He knelt beneath the thick side panel of a tank, wiping in vain at his rain splattered visor. The panel had been blown apart in the course of the battle and fallen down slated into the trenches. It had nearly ended his life when it had blasted past him on the battleground above, but now it prolonged it as a much needed shelter. He huddled under it, trying to think. The thermal controls in his armor had shorted out, and it was all he could do to keep from shaking with cold. 

Quiet sobbing turned to screams as the injured marine nearby found his voice. The soldier had also survived the attack, and Daniel had tried to assess the marine's injuries awhile ago.

"Hey," he'd whispered, "how bad, can you walk?" The man had groaned a pained affirmative in response. But when he'd turned the injured man over he had leapt back at the sight of strange limbs and protrusions growing rapidly over the other man's face and body. His armor plate had S. Richards printed on it, and his mouth drained a thick green mucus.

The other marines had told him of how the zerg assimilated some captured soldiers into bizarre zerg monsters, but he'd never seen infestation personally…it was no one he knew, but the sight of it had completely unnerved him. Protocol demanded he kill the man immediately, there was no known antidote, but when he'd hesitantly lifted his gun the other marine had screamed and tried to crawl away from him. Sickened, he had turned and ran from the scene. He just couldn't shoot one of his own people. 

Now skitterings and strained grunting nearby warned that the zerg were back. Daniel tried to be silent, to quiet his breathing and his pounding heart. The rain beat down even harder, and lightening brightened the entire landscape for a few moments, the light stark and cold before blinking out, making it hard for Daniel to make out what he was seeing. 

The zerglings, six of them, slowed into a lope as they rounded the corner and approached the fallen terran. The sick marine rolled onto his back and into a sitting position, his cries quieting into pained gasps. He was shaking badly and held out his arms as if to ward off the zerglings with his outstretched hands. The zerglings sniffed at him, touching his outstretched hands with triangular faces, surrounding him, but after a careful, almost gentle nudging, they leave him be. Trotting like dogs, they sort through the wreckage, leaving one of their number behind, staring quizzically, almost protectively at the suffering, mutating soldier. 

He withdrew his head into his shelter of sorts, sickened. It was just a matter of time before they find him, he had to leave _now_ consequences be damned.

He crept out from behind the wreckage and began to trudge down the trenches, trying to be as quiet as possible, trying to stay out of sight of the zerglings. As he inched away he found himself down a wide, twisting trenchway. Putting some distance between the pack of zerglings, he quickened his step, pausing only to pick his way past the wreckage and to look for additional ammo. He somehow avoided the faces of the dead terrans about him…the last thing he wanted was to find one of his friends now. He just didn't have the time, he needed his wits about him now.

The waves of zerg had left most of the company dead, and he stopped briefly to take several ammo clips from some of them, saluting each one. Feels like a mockery, but there was nothing else to be done…but he felt like he should do something for them. He had only known them briefly; thank God for that.

Splashes and muted rumblings spilled down the trenches behind him, drawing closer. The zerg had found his trail. He picked up the pace, breaking into a run. No need for silence now, just speed. 

A sudden scream and a heavy body fell from above; a zergling leapt into the trench atop him. Their bodies crash heavily into the muddy, bloody ground, frantically thrashing, each trying to kill the other. Daniel fell onto his back, with the zergling on top of him, it's heavy weight pinning him down.

The zergling's hot breath fogged his visor, the claws cut into his armor. He kicked the zergling off of him and grabbed up his rifle even as the zergling leapt into the air to assault him again, snarling horribly. He threw himself onto his back and lifted the rifle into position and pulled the trigger. The zergling's head exploded, smearing blood and gore over his helmet. The zergling fell onto the ground, it's body writhing and kicking, it's wounds splurting blood in great gouts. Daniel wiped his visor off as best as he could, and stumbled to his feet, clutching his rifle tightly. 

The roar of the gauss rifle blast and the noisy thrashing death of one of their own had alerted the zerglings to Daniel's presence, and he could hear the angry zerglings leaping toward him to have their vengeance. Daniel gave the now quiet zerg carcass a hateful kick and then fled towards what was the far end of the battlefield. Heading nowhere in particular…anywhere to get away from the swarm. 

Suddenly his com crackled, and a welcome human voice spilled into his headset, a voice of sanity in the maelstrom. A small, local transport had arrived for the company survivors, all marines were to report to the south side, the transport was leaving in 10 minutes!

__

Yes!

Daniel's spirit immediately reawakened with the hope of escape, and he broke into a stumbling run. Fleeing toward the south airfield, he dodged the zerg as he went, sometimes having to duck behind fallen wreckage. The rain slickened everything, and made the going more difficult. He tried to avoid firing his rifle for fear of drawing more attention to himself.

He reached the ridge just beyond the cleared area that served as an aircraft port, and saw through the driving rain the transport below, loading injured survivors. He tapped his com link and yelled into the headset.

"Tansport this is Daniel Shaltz, marine core, do you read?" 

"This is transport, there are zerg forces closing in on our position, we need to leave, now! Where are you?" 

The pilot sounded freaked, probably the first time he'd ever seen a battlefield or zerg up close. The vessel was a civilian transport, not military. Daniel felt a momentary rush of gratitude, these people weren't obligated to help him.

"I'm on the ridge, I'll be there in seconds, don't leave yet! Over and out!"

Daniel sprinted towards the transport as the last of the injured were hoisted aboard. He was only three hundred yards from his destination when the zerg arrived. Sickened, he saw a swarm of zerglings leap out from a trench just downwind of him, the same ones following him. They were joined up by a larger group of zerg, several huge snake-like hydralisks.

The zerg swarmed up behind him, trying to overtake him and the transport. He looked behind him, sprinting…he wasn't going to make it! The zerglings were overtaking him, with the hydras not far behind. He grabbed another clip, dumped the spent one, jammed it into the gauss rifle and whirled, firing for all he was worth with one hand while the other grabbed at a weapons pouch he'd taken from a fallen marine. He pulled out a grenade, yanked out the pin, and threw it with his free hand, all the while still backing towards the transport and emptying clip after clip into his screaming, writhing enemies. 

The zerglings fell in great numbers to his weapon, and then the hydralisks broke into range. They reared up high on their tails and stretched their necks to fire their poison-filled needles at him…the grenade went off just as they start to fire. The blast wasn't close enough to kill them, and their dense carapaces protected them from serious injury. One had been knocked head over tail and had landed flat on it's face. The grenade did kill some of the zerglings racing toward him, and it stunned the surviving zerg into a momentary pause. 

Over the din Daniel heard the transport's pilot yell frantically for him to board, but just as he started to turn again and run another group of zerglings topped the ridge. The hydralisks he didn't kill were already recovering their footing, and he whirled back and opened fired on them again…if he turned his back to them now he was finished. 

He suddenly realized that he wasn't going to make it. If he dropped his weapon for an instant he was finished, and so was the transport. If he did make it to the transport, as soon as he stopped firing to board it the hydralisks would fire on it and bring it down. 

Then a large group of new hydralisks broke from the trenches opposite from him and the transport. He realized the hopelessness of the situation then, and what he did next he did without thinking. 

Daniel lobbed the remaining two grenades at the following horde and yelled into the headset for them to go, now, leave him! They heard him and didn't waste a minute. The transport's engines roared as the pilot gunned them…out of the corner of his eye Daniel saw them salute him through the small window. Insanely he remembered that he had done the same to the dead marines…their twisted bodies flashed through his mind. 

Bile and a horrible sense of dread filled him as the transport lifted into the air without him. It was all he could do not to run shrieking towards the airship and safety…and then they were gone, beyond his reach.

Daniel grabbed another clip -the last one- as the injured and still slightly stunned hydralisks swarmed toward the transport. He strafed the shot into their ranks, cutting down the last few hydralisks coming at him straight on. He turned then to deal with the new group rapidly closing the distance between themselves, the fleeing transport, and him.

They stop full in their tracks as they come into range of the dwindling transport, and stretch out their necks to track it. But it was too late, and seconds later the transport was away and safe. They lowered their neck glands and turn their great heads toward the rising transport, watching it gain altitude and leave. 

Then they turn toward him, great mouths agape, hissing, their eyes glowing a deep forbidding red. They seem to appraise him with an intelligence he found deeply disturbing. Then in the midst of the chaos the hydralisks did something strange. They slithered back, away from him. The zerglings grudgingly give way and back up as well, one of them hissed at him balefully. _They couldn't be afraid of me_, he wondered, something like hope building within him. Maybe he could bluff his way out…?

__

No, he realized, _they are up to something else. But what? _He would do anything for a stim right now. He couldn't believe he'd actually done this…_what was I thinking? _The hydralisks slowly circled around him, cutting him off. There is no escape. They seem to be waiting for something… Did he imagine seeing respect in their faces, their eyes?

Daniel gripped his gun more tightly, sweat pouring off of him. Somehow he knew the end was near… like any decent animal he could sense it. But his human nature wouldn't let him give up the hope of escape. He threatened them with the rifle, and stepped toward them menacingly, hoping they'd continue to back off and give him ground. They refused. The hydralisks threatened him right back, their toothy mouths agape and hissing, mock slashing with their massive blades. Rain water pooled down their carapaces, and sloshed down and out their mouths. The zerglings clustered around them snarled and snapped at him, making short mock charges. He wasn't going anywhere.

A scraping sound caught his attention…he turned toward it, still brandishing the rifle at the ensembled zerg. He jerked back in surprise, provoking more reaction from the zerg. It was the infested marine dragging his empty gun. 

The infested marine, now zerg, stumbled up to where the Hydralisks were and reached out a slimy, tentacled hand. He gripped one of them by it's massive blade and leaned up against it. The hydralisks glanced at the newest member of their ranks. The zerglings didn't seem to notice him; they were too busy snapping and threatening Daniel. The hydralisk the infested marine was clinging to sniffed at him for a few moments in an almost friendly manner, then turned it's deep, threatening gaze back to Daniel. The newly zerg, still shaking, smiled at Daniel, a frighteningly sick sight, somehow still a human gesture, but perverted. 

"Ssokay..it'ss okay." The words seem to bubble with difficulty from the infested terran, but because of the infection's damage to his mouth and face,_ …not because he didn't mean it_, Daniel realized. _He's happy he's one of them…he's not afraid anymore!_

Daniel choked back vomit and stumbled back, sweat coursing down his back and brow as understanding like freezing ice penetrated him. A strange whistling sound was heard overhead as a zerg queen approached them…he saw her floating leisurely towards them. Then he truly knew. He was to be one of them too, that's why they hadn't killed him! 

__

Like hell…! 

He stared back at the marine, and hydralisk next to him. And then suddenly he wasn't afraid either. He reached out, rechecking the clip. The answer was now very clear to him. He fingered the gun carefully, feeling like he should do something, pray, maybe? He'd never had much to say to God before … why now?

He turned and looked at the infested terran again, leaning heavily against the other zerg, still smiling at him. It was trying to talk to him some more, but he couldn't hear it over the pounding rain. _No_. _No he wasn't leaving that way. _He smiled back at the infested terran, then dropped the handle of the rifle and brought the muzzle parallel to his throat, under his neck. He heard a roar as the surrounding zerg rushed at him. 

Daniel closed his eyes and pulled the trigger.

****

The hydralisks nudged and knocked at the loose, limp body then turned away. A Singer drifted overhead, relaying commands and the hydralisks leapt to obey. There were still terrans to be hunted down, small encampments to overwhelm, and new zerg to be hatched out. Life goes on… 

The zerglings had already gone ahead, leaving behind the zerg once known as Steven Richard. He lingered near the still warm body, and seemed troubled. It reached out a long finger and touched the name plate, tracing the printed name with the tip of a green tentacle. He ran a finger across the still, quiet face, the clean mouth still curved up into a true smile.

The Singer sensed his sad mood, and floated downward towards the distraught new zerg. It's tentacles reached out and stroked the new one comfortingly, and they both turned away and headed back towards the new dawn. 

*****

Finis


End file.
